Halo 4: the Digital Foundry verdictWith the departure of series creator Bungie, the Halo franchise was on uncertain ground. Could fledgling developer 343 Industries match the quality of the previous games? Would the new studio understand and honour the fundamental gameplay mechanics of the series? Could it match and even exceed Bungie's engineering prowess in a genre that has been defined to a large extent by technology? Microsoft's strategy in bringing about the return of the Master Chief appears to have been a case of throwing an enormous amount of money at all of the problems it faced, investing in an enormous, talented, highly experienced team and crucially giving them enough time to produce a quality product. The result has clearly paid off.

Halo 4 is a game that impresses on many levels. To begin with, it's clear that 343 Industries has treated all existing aspects of the Halo material with a high degree of reverence: while the game is receiving some criticism for its similarities to the older titles in the series, it's clear that this was the studio's intention from day one. Call it playing it safe if you like, but in building a new engine atop the core fundamentals laid down by Bungie, 343i made the right move. The result is a game that feels familiar, but crucially feels right. Combine that with the expert design direction and the groundbreaking technology and we have a game that genuinely impresses with the sheer magnificence of some its scenes, feeling every inch like the sci-fi epic the Halo games have always wanted to be.

"In an era where the likes of Naughty Dog and Sony Santa Monica have defined the graphical state-of-the-art on current-gen console, the Xbox 360 finally has its own shot at the title."

Technologically speaking, Halo 4 doesn't put a foot wrong throughout the entire eight to nine hour campaign. The enhancements to modelling, lighting and environments are beautiful and play host to some of the most epic gunplay we've experienced on a home console title. Perhaps this is not surprising bearing in mind that the 343i tech team had the know-how and the time to push the 360 hardware further and harder than any other developer we're aware of. Factor in how key 343i staff contributed to the development of DirectX 11 (and almost certainly, the genesis of the next-gen Xbox) and we have some idea of the spectrum of talent Microsoft put to work here.

Any disappointments from Halo 4 certainly aren't down to the tech - the only lingering let-down we feet from the campaign comes from series debutants, the Prometheans. After five games of blasting away at the same Covenant opponents, the arrival of fresh opponents for Master Chief was a golden opportunity to shake up the formula and for 343i to stamp its own mark on the series. Unfortunately, limited enemy types and no real sense of threat - even from the Promethean Knight - are disappointing, with the Covenant enemies proving to be more interesting and threatening opponents. At this point it's worth pointing out that Halo 4's campaign defaults to easy mode when you first start. We opted to move up to normal, but in retrospect feel that the heroic setting should be the default for anyone who has completed a Halo game before.

But even if the Promethean menace doesn't quite live up to expectations, the campaign is still a hugely entertaining slice of blockbuster action boasting exceptional production values - and it is only one part of a package that offers clear value once multiplayer, co-op and Spartan Ops are factored into the overall offering. In an era where the likes of Naughty Dog and Sony Santa Monica have defined the graphical state-of-the-art with Uncharted and God of War, Xbox 360 finally has its own shot at the title - and it's a genuinely worthwhile, lavish and occasionally even breathtaking experience.

anyway, i agree with the digital foundry review - the game is almost one 'notch' easier than previous games. started on heroic, should've gone harder.

also, is it just me, or does the AI seem a little worse? the covenant don't seem to hunt me as much as they once did. i can hide behind a post and regen, and generally not be bothered too much. perhaps that is what is making the game appear easier

Started playing this last night with my son. After being disappointed with pretty much all Halo's after Halo 2 I am astounded by the improvements 343 have brought to the franchise. It's clearly in good hands!

Started playing this last night with my son. After being disappointed with pretty much all Halo's after Halo 2 I am astounded by the improvements 343 have brought to the franchise. It's clearly in good hands!

Game is awesomesauce

really? as much as i think the game is quality, i think the SP of reach just beats it in terms of action, but the story of 4 is better - but there's really nothing in it, which is a massive complement.

not wanting to give too much away, i'm 'protecting' the composer at the moment. no idea how far through that is. mission 6

the human AI is pretty poor. definitely worse than reach. the enemy AI is pretty good, its just that way too often they could've hunted me down and killed me. i definitely remember them being slightly more aggressive. i'm a bit 50/50 on the new enemies though. there was a bit where it started to drag slightly (when you fly to different locations to shut down the relays). i do really like the flying ones though. the way they hide when shot is $#@!ing annoying, but not frustrating. you kind of have to get them first because they provide sheilds to the others. adds a different dynamic

the game is awesome overall. the last game i bothered playing all the way through in such a short time was reach, then before that shadow complex and braid

sad to say it was a bit of a weak ending though, both in terms of story and levels. not the epic sort of finish i was looking for at all. i guess in part though that just happens when the bar is set very high..

SP:

+ brilliant story overall
+ feels and controls like Reach, there really isn't a shooter that touches it
+ looks amazing
+ mechs
+ ^ what more do you need?

minor and verging on not so minor gripes:

- story/action ends a little abruptly/stupidly (sorry, where was he again?)
- tends to suffer a little like halo 1 did towards the end, too much indoor action causing it to feel a little repetitive
- environments very robotic, the open environments earlier are more enjoyable
- $#@! flying levels
- not the best AI in the world, very often felt like i was given an easy ride (heroic)

thats about it.

it could've been so much better than reach, but was let down in places. if i hadn't seen the ending i would've put it on par, or slightly above reach SP (and i loved that). but as it stands i personally think it falls ever so slightly short. still, i just played about 10 hours straight, and i rarely game nowdays, so make of that what you will

Amazon is pulling some BS. Seems they used a no name company (lasership) and the delivery estimate was changed from today to the 8th.

I can't imagine prime members being happy with no name shipping companies being used over UPS/FEDEX or even the USPS.

First time Amazon has failed me, but I guess it was inevitable.

Amazon uses Lasership quite often. I am actually surprised that they just used them for you now. I haven't had any bad experiences.....I have gotten items from lasership a day earlier than I am suppose to compared to UPS/Fedex. I am also Prime member.

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